Sarah Harding

“If I’m feeling confident, I feel sexy. You don’t have to be super skinny, but if you have the right attitude, other people will believe in that as well.” - Sarah Harding

Although Sarah Harding garnered a lot of modeling work by the time her career was five years old, she is still best known for her stint as one of the five members of the British group Girls Aloud. The group easily established itself as the hottest girl group to emerge out of the UK since the Spice Girls.

SEX APPEAL

Though Sarah Harding seems to ooze sexiness in even the most placid setting, it’s worth noting that she hardly thinks of herself as the sex bomb that she clearly is. "I hate my thighs and I wish my body was more even,” she says. She has also remarked that she’s too short for proper modeling, though we can’t help but think that Sarah would be a perfect fit strutting up and down the catwalk. It’s not difficult to see why Sarah Harding has been connected with some heavy hitters, including actor Stephen Dorff, Norwegian footballer John Arne Riise and even Oasis singer Liam Gallagher.

SUCCESS

Sarah Harding has attained the kind of success that most people can only dream about, yet there’s little doubt that she’s earned every bit of her fame over the years. Though the groups debut album was released just five short years ago, Sarah Harding and her Girls Aloud cohorts have subsequently played before crowds around the world, sold millions of albums and even released a greatest hits compilation -- not too shabby for somebody who was working behind the bar at a local pub in the weeks and months leading up to her Popstars: The Rivals victory.

Sarah Harding Biography

Sarah Nicole Hardman was born on November 17, 1981, in Manchester, England. Sarah Harding enjoyed a typical childhood in which she discovered her passion for music early on, as the first album she bought (Michael Jackson’s Bad) gave her a love for pop that continues to this day. After attending Hazel Grove High School and Stockport College, Sarah Harding started attending karaoke night at a nearby pub on a regular basis, which allowed her to both hone her vocals and make connections within the local music scene.

Sarah Harding’s tenacity paid off, as she was asked to sing backup vocals for a struggling band called Project G. Though she participated in photo shoots for the band’s promotional materials, Sarah Harding realized that Project G was doomed for obscurity. In the years since, however, a few tracks from the band have been leaked onto the internet, including “Don’t Wanna Be Alone” and “Searching.”

sarah harding competes in popstars: the rivals

Sarah Harding was working as a barmaid when she learned of an opportunity to audition for the second season of the reality show Popstars, which had previously produced the hugely successful pop group Hear’Say (whose band members include, among others, Myleene Klass and Kym Marsh). It was also around that time that Sarah Harding entered FHM magazine’s annual High Street Honeys competition, though she was forced to drop out due to her success on Popstars.

Sarah Harding effortlessly navigated her way through the treacherous waters of Popstars and she made it to the final 10 contestants. In accordance with the premise of the show, Sarah Harding found herself working alongside four females in a dogged effort to beat out the all-male band One True Voice. Sarah Harding, with bandmates Cheryl Tweedy (Cole), Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, and Kimberley Walsh, settled on the name Girls Aloud for the group, and the five women immediately started working on their first single.

girls aloud releases sound of the underground

In December of 2002, Girls Aloud emerged with their debut single “Sound of the Underground,” which went on to sell half a million copies in the United Kingdom and cemented the band’s victory over rivals One True Voice. Buoyed by the success of the chart-topping song, Sarah Harding and her cohorts immediately hit the studio to cut their debut album. Entitled Sound of the Underground, the disc soared to No. 2 (behind Justin Timberlake’s Justified) in its first week of release and spawned four hit singles (including “No Good Advice” and “Life Got Cold”).

The disc was so successful, in fact, that Sarah Harding and the girls immediately got to work on a follow-up effort, which was titled What Will the Neighbours Say? Girls Aloud subsequently embarked on their first tour, and it wasn’t long before their burgeoning fame had led to recognition from their peers within the industry. In addition to a nomination for Best Pop Act from the BRIT Awards, Girls Aloud was also honored with Glamour magazine’s annual Band of the Year award.

sarah harding models for ultimo

Given the incredible success of Girls Aloud, Sarah Harding soon found herself receiving the kind of opportunities most aspiring performers would kill for. Her first taste of success outside of Girls Aloud came when Ultimo offered her a contract to model their line of lingerie, and she found herself following in the footsteps of such well-known names as Rachel Hunter and Helena Christensen. Sarah Harding was also hired to become the face of Coca-Cola Zero in Ireland, and, along with her Girls Aloud cohorts, she appears in advertisements for Sunsilk hair products.